Coast Guard Cheong Enhances Accuracy of Route Deviation and Speeding Vessel Alerts

First Implementation of Ship Traffic Control System at Busan Port Starting from the 14th

Speeding Vessel Alert [Provided by the Korea Coast Guard]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 10th that it has improved the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) function to sound an alarm when a vessel in operation deviates from its route or exceeds speed limits, thereby preventing maritime accidents in advance.

According to the Coast Guard, statistics on maritime accidents over the past five years show that accidents caused by route deviation and speeding totaled 569 cases, occurring steadily every year.

Currently, the vessel traffic control system has an alarm function to monitor vessels that deviate from their routes or speed excessively. However, due to low accuracy, a large number of alarms are triggered, resulting in low usability at control sites.

In other words, alarms sound whenever any vessel deviates from its route regardless of whether it is subject to route compliance, or whenever any vessel exceeds the speed limit regardless of total tonnage or vessel type subject to speed restrictions.

In a survey conducted among vessel traffic controllers nationwide, 55.8% (227 respondents) requested improvements to the route deviation and speeding alarm functions of the vessel traffic control system.

In response, the Coast Guard improved the system by jointly utilizing vessel data held by other agencies' systems such as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Shipping Port Logistics Information System (PORT-MIS) and applying it to the vessel traffic control system, so that only vessels violating legally defined routes and speed limits are selectively alarmed with accurate warnings.

When a vessel deviates from its route or speeds excessively, the vessel traffic control system sounds an alarm to alert the controller, who then instructs the vessel to comply with the route via radio communication or dispatches Coast Guard vessels for on-site enforcement.

The improved vessel traffic control system will first be applied from the 14th to the Busan Port vessel traffic control system, which has the highest vessel traffic volume nationwide, and after further enhancement for accuracy, it will be expanded to systems nationwide.

A Korea Coast Guard official stated, "Route deviation and speeding are major causes of large-scale maritime accidents," adding, "With this project, vessel traffic controllers will receive accurate alarms and be able to take measures to ensure safe navigation of vessels, greatly contributing to the prevention of maritime accidents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.